There is a danger in preaching. One danger is that “you” might imagine me to be far more than I really am! The truth is that no one defies gravity. I like the humility of the Apostle Paul when he said, “Follow my example as I follow Christ.” Someone might look like they have it all together outwardly, but in reality, the Holy Spirit is constantly contending with the spirit of man. The only person we should ever put on a pedestal is Jesus Christ. If you’re ever tempted to put me on pedestal, talk to Lara first!
Another danger in preaching is that “I” might imagine myself to be far more than I really am. Self-deception is an occupational hazard of preaching. The preacher might imagine that because he can give a great talk he also has the right heart. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (CSB)
If my “public” ministry isn’t also “privately” about doing the will of the Father, I’m in pretty big trouble! What does James 3:1 say? “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (CSB). Honestly, that’s the part of preaching that terrifies me! What God thinks!
Perhaps the greatest danger of all is that “you” might imagine yourselves to be far more than you really are. In Romans 2:1-5 Paul says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (CSB)
Whoa! Hard hitting words! Self-concern ought to be our #1 top priority. As a Christian, you’ve got a full plate just taking care of yourself! And this preacher has a full plate just taking care of himself!
Balance "Self" Concern and "Other" Concern
But then there is this other aspect of spirituality that’s not so easy to navigate. It’s called concern for others. The Bible says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1, CSB). Do you notice the tension between concern for self and concern for others? There is an inherent danger in warning/restoring others. “We” can become so preoccupied with others that that we lose our own bearings.
Once, when I was a freshmen in college, a man by the name of Wayne Shaw wept as he described the plight of people far from God. Wayne wasn't just anybody. He was my parents pastor, and my grandpa’s pastor. I felt quite convicted by his sincerity. So right there in that chapel, I said a prayer that God immediately answered. I prayed, “Lord, give me a burden for people far from God. Heal my ambivalence…”
At the time, I really didn’t know what I was asking for. If you’ve dared pray such a prayer, you know you can’t every turn such concern off. You’re constantly concerned about people’s faith, their life, their salvation, their choices (are they living God’s will?), their well-being. But here is the part I didn’t anticipate: How can you demonstrate such concern without polarizing relationships or alienating people? As believers it’s so easy to cross that line of coming across judgmental, or superior, or arrogant, or “more than” we are. As Christ-followers, how can we be helpful and redemptive?
I find Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:1-6 to be extremely helpful to me personally. It helps us evaluate how well we are walking the line between concern for self and concern for others. There are five questions you can ask of your relationship with people far from God:
First, Am I Growing in Hostility or Growing in Grace?
In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” These are easily the most misunderstood verses in all Scripture. Some people imagine Jesus is prohibiting us from exercising any kind of moral or spiritual judgement whatsoever. i.e. “I shouldn’t hold any moral or spiritual convictions.” Even worse, some people imagine that tolerance is the key to getting off scot free on judgement day! i.e. “If I lighten up on others, God will lighten up on me.”
But this verse has absolutely nothing to do with abandoning moral and spiritual judgement. When tolerance is an end in itself, it becomes a dead-end. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount Jesus actually heightens, and never alleviates, our moral/spiritual concern. We realize that things we shrugged our shoulders about actually matter, and can even have very grave outcomes!
The problem Jesus is denouncing here is hostility. Think of hostility as frustrated concern. The more frustrated we become, the less grace we show, until ultimately, we stop showing much grace at all! If in your relationships you find yourself growing more in hostility than grace, it’s time to seek the heart of God again.
Second, Am I Growing in Severity or Growing in Patience?
In Matthew 7:2 Jesus says, “For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.” Of all people Christians can become quite severe in our judgements. Instead of showing grace to people, we start putting people in absolute categories and labeling them accordingly. People in sync with us are “True Believers”; The rest of people are “Empty Heads” and “Fools.”
I know it’s probably a horrible metaphor, but people aren’t black or white. They’re millions of shades of gray. People are never always one thing. Unlike God, people are not the same yesterday, today, and forever. People can change dynamically. They rarely stay in the boxes we put them into. They keep climbing out. They continually defy our labels, expectations, categorizations, and judgments. Right about the time we think we have a person pegged… their thinking, feelings, or behavior shifts.
Passages like Romans 2:4 tells us that God relates to people out of kindness, forbearance, and patience. Why? Because the needle of a person’s heart is always moving. And it’s movement isn’t always detectable to the human eye. Maybe they’ve shifted a few shades toward the light; maybe a few shades toward the darkness. Maybe they’ve shifted toward the darkness for this season of their life; Maybe they’ll come to their senses and shift back toward God in the near future. The reason we must be patient is because we never fully know what God’s doing in someone’s life.
Third, Am I Growing in Arrogance or Growing in Humility?
In Matthew 7:3 Jesus says, “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?”
Remember the dangers of preaching? You imagine I’m more than I am? I imagine I’m more than I am? We imagine we’re more than we are? A superiority complex is when you or I imagine ourselves to be far more than others. And when we start imagining we’re better than others, we start imagining we’re more deserving of God’s mercy and grace than they are. And how do you suppose that affects other people?
James 2:13 says, “Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” At the end of the day, we all get the same deal or we get no deal. With the gospel, there is no "inferior" or "superior" there is just One God, who is the Lord and Savior of us all.
Fourth, Am I Growing in Hypocrisy or Growing in Devotion?
In Matthew 7:4-5 Jesus says, “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.” (CSB)
In Romans 2:18-24 Paul echoes Jesus: “If you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (CSB)
Why do people mock God? It’s because who we are is speaking so loudly they cannot hear anything we’re saying. John Wesley said, “We should be rigorous in judging ourselves and gracious in judging others.” Are we seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness? More often than not, the first people to notice our hypocrisy are people far from God. How can we bring greater integrity to our devotion?
Fifth, Am I Growing in Spite or Growing in Influence?
In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says, “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” “Dogs” and “Pigs” were a derogatory, disrespectful way Jewish people referred to people far from God. I think Jesus is referencing these terms with a touch of sarcasm here. Imagine if you were lambasted for being unspiritual, or compared to untamed beasts. When our attitude toward the world is one of hostility, severity, arrogance, hypocrisy and spite is it any wonder they trample our pearls like pigs, or turn against us, or tear us to pieces?
Have you ever considered maybe our “lack of influence” in the world has far more to do with our posture toward the world than the world’s posture toward us? Hostility begets… hostility. Severity begets… severity. Arrogance begets… arrogance. Hypocrisy begets… hypocrisy. Spite begets… spite. Do you see the problem?
The Way of Jesus
But what is the way of Jesus? It’s the way of grace. Grace begets… grace. It’s the way of patience. Patience begets… patience. It’s the way of humility. Humility begets… humility. It’s the way of devotion… “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness.” It’s the way of influence… If we don’t like people acting like dogs, or acting like pigs, maybe we should stop treating them like dogs and pigs?
In Matthew 5:10-12 Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
More often than not we’re persecuted not for Jesus, but for being judgmental. For being hostile, or severe, or arrogant, or hypocritical, spiteful, or all the above! Matthew 7:1-5 isn’t a call for us to lower, or abandon Christ’s call to righteousness. These verses are a call to moral and spiritual responsibility. They are a call to raise people up… starting with ourselves. They are a call to walk the tight rope. To find that productive, redemptive “middle” that is so often abandoned for the extremes of total ambivalence or total judgmentalism. They are a call to be like Jesus, be full of grace and full of truth ... not void of either or both!
If we would invite God to change our interactions with people… maybe just maybe, we’ll have a real shot at being salt and light that people might praise our Father in Heaven.